OCEANSIDE: Pet store owner sentenced to 5 years probation, community service

EDWARD SIFUENTES esifuentes@nctimes.com

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An El Cajon man who owned three pet stores in the county, including one in Oceanside, pleaded guilty to animal abuse and was sentenced to five years probation, authorities said.

Johnson Tan Le pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge of animal abuse and one misdemeanor charge of having an unsanitary animal enclosure, authorities said.

He faced more than two dozen animal abuse counts and health violations from unhealthy conditions at his businesses.

After an investigation by the San Diego Humane Society, authorities raided his home March 27, where he bred dogs, and three other locations: Nadine's Puppies, 1021 S. Coast Highway in Oceanside; Pet Place, 6512 El Cajon Blvd. in Rolando; and Puppy Star, 6167 Balboa Ave. in Clairemont.

Gary Weitzman, president of the San Diego Humane Society, said on Monday that the closure of the three pet stores was "a huge success" and that all the animals have been placed in new homes.

"We are heading in the right direction, but there is still more to be done to defend helpless animals," Weitzman said in a statement. "That's why our humane officers are in the field seven days a week investigating cases of animal cruelty and neglect."